This invention relates to a wire saw with a diamond cutting element.
Wire saws for cutting stone or other hard material are known in which a cylindrical cutting element is fixed to a wire rope or cable. The wire rope is pulled across the surface of the material to be sawn, so that the cutting elements abrade the surface along the line of the rope.
It is known for cutting elements to consist of a mass of diamond particles held in a metal matrix. Such elements have the advantage that they can relatively easily be formed into suitably shaped cutting elements. Although these cutting elements are generally satisfactory, there is a tendency for cutting elements to be polished by the cutting action, so that their effectiveness is gradually reduced.
Examples of wire saws with diamond cutting elements are described in European Patent Publication No. 0,213,434 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,246.